Automatic merchandise-displayer.



; 1. W. BEHRENDT @L B. BANGHA. AUTOMATIC MERCHANDISE DISPLAYER. APPLICATIN FILED DEC. I4. 1914.

1,206,083. Patented Nov. 28,` 1916.

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IN VEN TORS.

JACOB W. IBEHBENDT 1 wnur. .t Barrena, or san* rn f.; cisco, onnrronnra.

AUTOMATIC EBCHAIIDISE-DISPLAYER.

Specication of Eetters Patent.

Patented Nov. 28, i916.'

Application led December 14, 1914. Serial No. 877,121.

To all whom t may concern Be it known that we, JACOB W. BEHRENDT and BALAMBR BANGEA, the said BANGHA a citizen ofl-lungary and the said BEE- nnNnr a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and countiy of San Francisco and State of Caliiornia, have invented certain newl and useful Improvements in Automatic Merchandise-Displayers, of which the following is a specification.

@ur invention relates to that class of merchandise' displayers or exhibitors in which separate art1cles or groups of goods are presented to view in succession behind a sight opening, through which the observer sees them with .an interest due to expectancy and surprise.

The object of our invention is to provide a simple and effective device of this class, the displays of which shall be presented at successive periods in such manner that the intervals between observations shall edectually conceal the approach of the succeeding presentation thereby holding the expectant interest of the observer, and in the end surprisin him by ther sight of a j:resh display, of te approach of which and the manner of its coming he can but surmise, and which may even convey to him the impression of puzzling substitution.

To this end our invent1on consists in the novel device or apparatus for displaying oods and merchandlse which we shall hereinafter fully describe by reference to the accompanying drawings in which liigure l is a perspective view, broken, of one form of our merchandise displayer. `Fig. 2 is a plan view showing another form, chieiy a modification in the shape and course of travel" of the display compartments. y

1Referring first to Fig. 1 1 is a case, which in its front wall is formed with a sight openin 2, the face borders of which may be suita ly framed or ornamented to suit the taste of the designer. Within the case is a shaft 3 upon which is carried a circular platform 4. This platform carries a plurality yof vertical partitions 5, equidistant, and arranged in planes radiating from the axis of the latform, so that the space above said plat orm is thus divided into a plurality of symmetrical, identical display compartments, designated by t". There may and said shelf approaches closely to but does not contact withsaid platform, thereby lling in the space in front thereof. Also, from the inner surface of the case on each side of the sight opening 2, project the vertical wing plates 8, said plates terminating below at the shelf 7 and at their inner edges lying in such close proximity or relation to the circular path of movement of the outer edges of the partitions 5, that they edsctually ll in the side spaces.l When, therefore, a pair of partitions 5 come to rest in proper relation to the wing plates 8, a compartment is seen through the opening 2, which is bounded by the platform, and fill- 1n shelf' below and by the partitions and lng wings on each side, while above, the view is naturallyl obstructed by the level of the top of the sight opening with relation to the height of the normal observer, so that no other provision need be madefor shuttin out the view above.

lt w11 readily be seen, from the foregoing, that by successive registrations of the partitions 5 with the filling wings 8, successive similar compartments will be presented through the sight opening, and the vision will be precisely confinedI to the limits of each compartment, everything beyond being excluded.

Our invention `contemplates the ltimely covering and uncovering of the 'sight opening. Any suitable means to Athis ,end may be employed. The simplest device is, as we now consider it, a curtain. 9 is. such curtain adapted to cover and to uncover the sight opening 2. This curtainmay be hung from above or mounted below, but for illustration, we show it as hung from above on a roller 10, so that it rises to uncover the sight opening and falls to cover it, 'the latter movement being by gravity, due to the weight of the curtain. To the platform i is given an intermittent or step by step rotation, and the curtain 9 lis made to rise and fall in such synchronism with the movement of the platform that,'while the platform is moving one step,the curtain. is down, and while the platldd rio

form isat rest, the curtain is up. Any suitable mechanism may be employed to effect these timely movements. For illustration we here shov7| the following means. On the shaft-3 is a gear 11, which for simplicity is shown as a friction gear. With thisgear is adapted to engage a segment-pinion 12 onk a shaft 13, which may be driven in any manner, a crank 14 being here shown. Thus the intermittent or periodic mov-ement of the platform 4 is provided for. 15 is a terminal pulley and 16 is a terminal drive pulley of an endless belt 17. To this belt at 18 is hooked'a link 19 to which a line 20 is attached, said line extending to and operating on a drum 21 on a countershaft 22. The

. shaft 22 carries a second drum 23, from which a line 24 extends up to a drum 24 on the roller 10 of the curtain 9. .On the crank shaft 13 is a mutilated or double segment gear 25 which is adapted to-engage with and drive the terminal pulley 16' of the belt 17. Thus the timely movement of the curtain is provided for, said curtain rising positively as the lines are pulledon and dropping by gravity as the lines are relieved in accordance with the travel of the belt.

The operation of the device will now readily be understood. The articles or groups of articles to be displayed are placed within each compartment 6 of the platform. These compartments may themselves be tastefully furnished or decorated, either dissimilarly or identically, the latter being, perhaps, preferable, in order that the impression of substitution of articles in the same compartment may be conveyed to the observer. The curtain being down, the motive power is applied and the platform rotates one step. Tt comes to rest with its partitions 5 in close relation with the filler wings 8 of the case. As soon as the platform is at rest, the curtain rises and the observer sees the display of goods in the compartment. After a predetermined time, during which all parts are at rest, the curtain falls. As soon as it fully covers the sight opening, the platform is rotated a second step, so that its next compartment comes into position and is at rest behind the sight opening, with its partitions in close relation with the filler wings. Then the curtain rises again and the observer sees a second display of an entirely di'erent nature. This display is in the same place, and if the compartments be furnished identically, it appears to be in the same compartment as the first display, thereby giving the impression of substitution, and, consequently, heightening interest and inducing surmises as to probable causes. The' close ntneo-epee ting of the iilling pieces, namely, the shelf 7 and the wings 8, excludes the sight of anything beyond or outside of the compartments, and as the mechanism may be practically noiseless, the observer has nothing to distract his attention from a complete observation of the display and that alone, with the desired result of wondering how it came about.

Although, in Fig. 1, we have shown a circular movement, we do not conne ourselves to such a course, for, as we show in Fig. 2, the path may be an elongated one. In this form of the device, in which we have indicated by the same numerals similar parts or those corresponding with like parts in Fig. 1, the compartments compose or are secured to an endless chain 26 traveling on terminal sprockets 27 and in this form we may have two curtain controlled sight openings as shown, the number of these openings being a matter of choice. Tn Fig. 2, We have also indicated small supplementary platforms 28 in the Hoor of the compartments. These are to have an intermittent rotation, each on its own axis, for which purpose we indicate the motor 29 with its shaft 30 and Worm 31; the shaft 32, gear 33 driven by the worm, and

the large gear 34 on the shaft 32, which said gear 34 is adapted to drive the shaft 35 of each supplementary platform 28, as the compartment lies at rest behind the sight apertures. These supplementary platforms are employed to display articles, such, for example, as gowns, which require to be turned around.

We claim A merchandise displayer comprising a case having a sight-opening; a platform within the case, carrying a series of vertical partitions forming a plurality of display compartments; means for'imparting to said platform an intermittent rotation to carry its compartments successively into view behind the sight-opening and there holding them at rest for a period; means to cover and uncover the sight-opening; and means for operating said last named means to cover the opening during the movement of the compartmentsand to uncover the opening during their rest period.

Tn testimony whereof we have signed our names to this speciiication in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JACOB W. BEHRQENDT. BALAMBR BANGHA.

1lWitnesses:

WM. F. Boorn, D. B. RICHARDS. 

